Christmas Moments

Our holiday was filled with wonderful moments and lots of family gatherings.  We wouldn't have it any other way!!  Jeremy's brother Joey was able to join us from Arizona this year and flew in Thursday evening.  The kids were very excited to have a house guest and were quite frothy with energy while waiting for his arrival.  Jeremy was able to take 11 days off from work and his vacation started Friday.  We enjoyed a lazy morning visiting.  After that both Joey and I headed out to the stores for some last minute shopping. 

Friday night, J2D2 headed to cousin Kellie's house to carol with the Waggoners.  This family tradition has been in place for decades and we all enjoy it so much.  Derick was REALLY into it this year, belting out the carols from the top of his lungs and wishing our audience a very merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  It was adorable!!

Derick and his cousin, Mackenzie, singing from the back of the truck.

Christmas eve we got dressed up and headed to the Issaquah Senior Center for a big potluck meal with the Waggoner extended family.  Dinner was great, and after dinner I read a story to the kids while we all waited for Santa to arrive.  He brings one gift for each child to open.  It was a very nice afternoon visiting with family.

 Cousins Darla, Jewel, Derick, and Lucas.  So CUTE!

 Jeremy and his sisters, Becki and Rachel.

 Lucas and Timmy, watching Santa.

 Jewel and Jordan, with cousin Ella.

D & D putting out milk and cookies for Santa, and a couple of carrots for the raindeer.  So CUTE!

Christmas day, Jeremy and I got up early (before the kids) to capture their excitement as they came out of their bedrooms.  Because of the way our home is configured, it's been difficult to enjoy this moment, in years past.  That 6:30 am alarm wasn't fun, but being awake for an hour before the kids was kinda nice.  We shared a cup of coffee and talked without interruption before we heard the stirrings of our kids.  Sure enough, they came flying down the stairs, exclaiming, "Santa was here!!  Santa was here!!"  So glad we had the video tape rolling.  Ahhh, the magic lives on for another year.

 Derick with his Santa gift.

 Darla with her Santa gift.

After enjoying the tree and presents for each other, J2D2 headed to Redmond to celebrate with the Sommerdorf/Kunz families.  We enjoyed a nice afternoon of great food and lots of spoilage!  The kids did a pretty good job of sharing their toys with each other and the adults had a nice time visiting. 

 Darlene, Jeremy, Brian, Barry, Jodi and the back of Darla's head.

 The Boy's table.

 Sydney, so cute with that tonge out the way her mama used to do it.

On Monday, December 26th, we hosted one more meal with the Judi Peery clan.  Jeremy fried a turkey and the rest of us filled in the meal with sides and dessert.  We enjoyed another wonderful 'true elephant' gift exchange, where we all bring items from our homes that we no longer want.  There was plenty of laughter and a few steals as we chuckled over our 'new' treasures.  There were gifts for the kids, lots of cousin play time, and even a dance party later in the evening.

 Josh and Nikanne

 Rachel

Brothers: Josh, Jake, Jeremy, and Joey

Whew, after all that fun, I was ready for things to slow down a bit.  And they did.  We've been playing games, building Legos, dressing barbies, and just being lazy together.  We took Joey out to dinner on Tuesday, before he headed back home.  It was nice to see him and maybe sometime in the future we'll visit him in Arizona for some pool time fun. 

I hope everyone out there in blog land had a wonderful holiday.  We look forward to 2012 with hope and peace in our hearts as another new year begins.